MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Northern Michigan University women's basketball team was defeated, 63-46 by No. 1-ranked Ashland University in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday (Jan. 3) from the Berry Events Center. The Wildcats fall to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the GLIAC, while the Eagles improve to 13-0 and 6-0.

The Eagles led from the opening basket of the game on a layup by Kari Daugherty. NMU was able to tie the game at seven with 14 minutes remaining in the opening half, but Ashland quickly regained its lead. The Eagles closed out the half with a 17 point advantage (33-16).

The second half started with a three-pointer by Ashland's Noelle Yoder. The Eagles went up by as much as 24, three different times in the half.

Northern was led by sophomore guard Lauren Gruber with 12 points. The next closest Wildcat was freshman forward Nea Makela with eight points. On the boards, Gruber led with seven total rebounds, six on defense and sophomore guard Alyssa Colla added six.

Leading all scorers was Kari Daugherty for the Eagles with 27 points on 10 field goals and went 7-for-11 from the charity stripe. Daugherty also led the rebound column with 15 total. Daiva Gerbec also scored in the double figures for Ashland with 18.

Northern will continue play at home on Saturday against Lake Erie College at 3 p.m. from the Berry Events Center.